Media Release: Paramount Theatre Project

The former Paramount Theatre on Kings Square may have a new lease on life - Uptown Saint John Inc. officials have entered into a short-term agreement with the current building owner to explore ways in which the old theatre can potentially be used.

Over the past couple of months Uptown Saint John Inc. has been in talks with the current owner of the Paramount Theatre, Daeres Trucking and Demolition, to stall and perhaps eliminate the possibility of the building’s demolition.

“We are fortunate to be dealing with a property owner who really doesn’t want to demolish the building if there is another use for it,” said Matt Alexander, President of Uptown Saint John. “We feel that there is community support for the building’s renewal, and that is why we’ve entered into a short-term option agreement to explore the possibility of re-purposing the building for one or more new uses.”

Uptown Saint John Inc. has purchased a short-term option to see what uses the community may have for the old theatre, if it were rehabilitated. A feasibility study will be conducted over the next ten weeks to see if there is a solid case for the building’s renewal. Funding for the study is provided by the Province of New Brunswick thanks to the efforts of Ed Doherty.

“This will be a highly consultative process where we will be engaging the public and various key stakeholders to gain insight into what might be appropriate uses for this large flexible structure” said Peter Asimakos, General Manager of Uptown Saint John Inc. “It’s a clean slate and a large one so we know that there could be a number of compatible uses taking place in the building.”

In 2008 Uptown Saint John unveiled the District Wealth Creation Strategy that made a number of recommendations on how to leverage existing cultural assets in the uptown, for economic gain and added vibrancy to the area. “We are being strategic in our efforts by following the recommendations of this strategy – one of its key recommendations is the identification of seven precincts within the uptown.” The Paramount Theatre was identified as being a key asset in the King’s Square Performing Arts District which envisions building on the success of the Imperial Theatre utilizing indoor and outside spaces in and around the Square.

The public is encouraged to follow the progress on this project and provide feedback by logging on to the Uptown Saint John Inc. website at www.uptownsj.com.

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Uptown Saint John Inc. represents over 700 businesses and property owners in a 30 block area of the city centre. Our mission is to contribute to member success through advocacy; promotion and support of a growing, vibrant and diverse cultural and business environment, leveraging assets such as heritage, waterfront and the arts, and the growing population to create a desirable place to live, work and play.

I wish there were more comments on this issue. The paramount needs to be restored. The charm of that building alone is a great asset to Saint John and it is sad to walk by it and see it in its state. I personally would love to see it turned into a theatre showcasing local talents, films, music, and everything Saint John has to offer in the arts sector.

I understand that the building is a huge expense and the costs to occur and maintain would be huge but perhaps having classes taught their in a section for various classes whether it be dance classes, acting classes etc. could help also.

I personally will be sharing this link on my twitter, facebook and websites I manage to get the word out on this and try and get more ideas brought forward.

Great idea! We do need this theatre restored and back in operation to give people an opportunity to see films and potentially other forms of art and music in the Uptown core. We have all seen what the Imperial theatre has done for Saint John...

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